Hello friends!!!

We are officially live and out the door now with Budgets Are Sexy and it’s been a whirlwind!!! So many emotions and friends and re-unitings over here :) And to think I almost said “no thanks’ to the opportunity – ack!!! Would have been living in a (much more boring) alternative universe right now!

We kicked off the week with 3 new articles featured below, so if any of them look interesting just click away and get caught up on the past couple of years!

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Post #1: Actually you can ignore this one as it’s just a “we’re coming back” note for everyone not on this list or who follow me on social – which is like 90% of the world, haha… (you guys are the special 10%!! ;))

Post #2: Allow me to Re-Introduce myself, My Name is J. Money (OH! J-to-The-Moneyyy!) — See what’s been going down with my $$$ and life and all kinds of other things the past two years! Also a nice recap of who I am if you’re new here to the list or don’t know much about my blog or past projects..

Post #3: This is the most exciting one!! We’re bringing back our long sold-out T-SHIRTS!!! The popular “I’m Bringing Budgets Back.”, along with two new designs: “Mother Budgeter.” and “I Like Big Budgets and Cannot Lie.” Lol… They come in all different styles and colors, and priced as low as almost possible to be sure to always *ahem* fit within your budget.

Here are some of the designs:

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Big love to Dave from Accidental FIRE for partnering up with me on these and then getting them out the door in lightning speed…

As soon as I saw my old “I’m Bringing Budgets Back.” graphic the other week I immediately wondered what it would take to actually bring the *shirts* back too, and knowing he runs a killer FIRE shop on Amazon I tapped him for advice and we decided to go in together on these.

So without him these wouldn’t exist – so thanks dude!!

Check out the new shop here (via Amazon):
Budgets Are Sexy Store

In other welcoming news, I finally got my infusions scheduled out so I can start managing this disease more solidly now, and while it’s yet another month away at least we’re up and rolling now!!! The maddening part of it though was that my files had been on her desk just sitting there because she couldn’t find my weight to get insurance approved and the right dosage/etc, and then it dawned on her that she could just pick up the phone and call me, and within two hours we had it scheduled and approved and ready to go 🙃

Trying to be grateful, but man — people treat us patients like paperwork but we’re real life human beings (who are suffering, mind you!!!) and waiting anxiously each passing day for news of things!! And then to just callously brush it off with an “oops, sorry – I should have called earlier” just adds salt in your blistering wounds, lol..

But whatever… Life is good and we are moving on!!! :)

Check out the shirts, check out the new posts, and then grab yourself a large latte over the weekend and enjoy the best posts from around the community down below…

Thanks for being here and all your support this week!! I’ve felt it! 💙

PS: We’re not making much on the shirts, but we’ll have to find a fun way to use the profits For Good somehow, like maybe re-starting our old Community Fund or something around those likes… Open to ideas!!

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Favorite Reads This Week:

Minimal on Purpose @ No Sidebar – “Emptiness requires us to either face or lose ourselves. A blank space on our wall or our calendar forces us to think about our options and figure out what to do with that space. A quiet interlude compels us to look within ourselves and perhaps deal with an issue we’ve been avoiding.”

The Four Paths of Retirement @ The Retirement Manifesto – “We found that survey respondents in the heart of retirement divide into four distinct groups, characterized by their attitudes and ambitions, their circumstances and retirement preparations, and their level of enjoyment of life in retirement.”

The Simple Reason Why Renting Will Save You Money @ Kate Horrell – “When you rent, you never pay more than you rent each month. When you buy a house, you never pay less than your mortgage each month.”

What is Cash Stuffing? #cashstuffing @ Wallet Hacks – “Have you heard of this latest TikTok “craze” called cash stuffing?  The term is new but the strategy isn’t – even if you’ve never heard of cash stuffing, chances are you’ve heard of the strategy.  It’s been around for ages and it’s a solid approach, it just hasn’t gone viral because no one came up with a clever name. 🙂”

Chart: Every S&P 500 Bear and Bull Market in History @ My Money Blog – “Takeaway: You should always be prepared for a drop of 50% in your stock holdings. Enduring such uncomfortable volatility is the price of investing in stocks, and if you don’t pay it, you don’t get the full returns.”

At Death’s Door with a Dollar in My Pocket @ Poor. Choices. – “Here’s a thought experiment with which I have thought about experimenting. When I die, I will give my child one dollar along with a link to this article (or rather a link to my digital home in the metaverse where an NFT of this article will await them on my holo desk).”

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Communities / Meetups Around The Space

A reader recently asked what communities were around the space for like-minded financially-focused people, so I shot him the following list which include both in-person local meetups, as well as online forum type meetings. All of which are generally positive and helpful, so maybe worth looking into for you too?

• Camp FI
• Choose FI Community
• Mr. Money Mustache Forums/ Meetups

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Good morning, friends!

I’m wrapping up the re-design of Budgets Are Sexy today so this note will be a bit shorter, but still wanted to hit you as I came across a bunch of great articles this week that I think you’ll enjoy (posted down below, as always).

I’ve had a TON of fun coming up with new designs and scrapping all the old stuff from the site, but now the hard part is here tying up all the lose ends and makings sure it’s ready for the world – the worst!! I’m great at dong the 80-90% of projects, but it’s that last 10%+ that kills me. 😑

I think I channeled Pete’s new mantra of “funtimization” a bit too much, haha, and now I’m left with all the boring – but IMPORTANT – things on my plate… But it’s gotten me to this point so far, so I’m down with the philosophy!

Sometimes focusing on only the *fun* stuff is enough to get a project – or finances, even – off and rolling without getting bogged down in the minutia… Maybe try implementing it yourself if you’re currently stuck and see if it does the trick? He swears its now affected his entire work life “until the day that he dies,” lol, so maybe it’ll be just as dramatic for you ;)

At any rate, here’s a sneak peek of the new site:

What do you think?!

You can click around and see the other changes I’ve made so far too, like an updated about page, press page, a new podcasts page that highlights interviews I’ve done + all my old M.O.N.E.Y. show episodes!, a new hire me page, and more.

Still going through things and cleaning everything up, so if you see anything that’s wonky or can’t find something you wish stayed on the site and was helpful to you, do let me know and I’ll look into it!

THREE MORE DAYS ‘TIL LAUNCH!!!!

Gonna have something Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week – with Friday being a fun little surprise for all long-time fans of the site ;) You won’t want to miss it. And in fact, if you re-sign up to our newsletter there you won’t! So be sure to do that!

Get Budgets Are Sexy posts emailed to you

Hope to see you there!! You’ll have to let me know if my writing style has changed over the years or if I’m still the same J. Money you remember ;) I *feel* the same inside, but maybe I write like a 40-year-old now?!

We’ll find out soon, haha… See you then!

XOXO,

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Favorite Reads This Week

Financial Slimming @ Humble Dollar — “The fact is, the more accounts we have and the more investments we own, the more precious time we have to lavish on them, and I can think of so many better ways to spend my time. Similar to donating or throwing away old possessions, I find it liberating to relinquish these various accounts, and I suspect my executor will also be grateful.”

Findings from 300 Millionaire Interviews @ ESI Money — “The principles are almost always the same, but their journeys are unique, which makes them interesting. In today’s post, I’m going to detail the stats behind the 300 millionaires who took significant time and effort to share their stories with us.”

Growing Up Poor (and How it Messed With My Mind) @ Get Rich Slowly — “As an adult, my experience has been markedly different than when I was a kid. I’ve gradually moved from poverty to middle class to upper middle class. In the physical world, I am now rich. But inside? I’m still that poor kid living in a trailer house. I am trapped by those thoughts and those emotions.”

The Hidden Costs of Being LGBTQ+ with the Debt Free Guys @ Her First $100k — “We were finance professionals, and yet together we had racked up $51,000 in credit card debt. We realized that there was not only an emotional and social cost to being gay – there was a financial one as well, and that cost was going to ruin our lives if we didn’t make a change.”

14 Reasons I’ve Been Able to Sustain Minimalism for 14 Years @ Becoming Minimalist – “Becoming a minimalist has never been my greatest goal in life—nor will it be. There are greater pursuits in life than simply trying to own less stuff. Minimalism, to me, has always been a means to an end. I want my life to make the greatest difference for the greatest number of people. Owning less frees me to do that.”

Early Financial Independence: Living Your Life in 4 Acts @ Play Louder! — “Many authors and screenwriters would agree that the most interesting stories deviate from the traditional 3-act structure. So I’m thinking that maybe our own lives should too! Hopefully this post will get you thinking, or at least curious, about how you can rewrite the 3-act story of your life, if you so choose.”

The Barista-Coast FIRE Strategy @ Money Flamingo — “With Coast FI, we cover our living expenses by working while our nest egg compounds in the background. The obvious downside is that we cannot touch our nest egg for a really long time.  With Barista FI, we can draw a regular annual income from our investment portfolio, but it is unlikely that we will ever become financially independent with this approach.  We can get the best out of both strategies and avoid their main disadvantages by combining them.”

Financial Greenwashing: How To Avoid Being Tricked @ Bravely Go — “Greenwashing is the practice of companies saying they’re environmentally friendly to sell their product, but behind the scenes are actually making zero sustainable efforts.  Financial greenwashing is the money version of that- when banks, investment brokerages, mutual funds, or fintech products pose as sustainable while actually being environmentally harmful.”

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Book of The Week

Gotta give a shout to Nick’s new book out on the scene: Just Keep Buying: Proven ways to Save Money and Build Your Wealth.

I haven’t cracked it open yet, but I keep hearing – and seeing – good things, so I already know it’s worth picking up. Particularly because his blog is one of the only ones I subscribe to where I devour almost every single post :) So if you’re not in the mood to read a whole book anytime soon, check out his blog instead:

Of Dollars and Data

But here’s more about the book if you’re interested: In Just Keep Buying, popular finance blogger Nick Maggiulli crunches the numbers to answer the biggest questions in personal finance and investing, while providing you with proven ways to build your wealth right away.

Five things this book will teach you:

1. Why you need to save less than you think
2. Why debt isn’t good or bad
3. How to survive (and thrive) during a market crash
4. Why saving up cash to “buy the dip” isn’t a good idea
5. Why you shouldn’t max out your 401(k)

Read more: Just Keep Buying

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News Around The Community

Lastly, here’s a bunch of stuff I flagged going around the community this week:

• Julia Ubbenga @ No Sidebar welcomed home a baby girl: Emelia
• Financial Mechanic celebrates 1 year living abroad in Amsterdam
• Stop Ironing Shirts celebrates (and ponders) 3 years of FIRE
• Lee Huffman from Bald thoughts celebrates 4 years since quitting his job and going out on his own (which he very much does not regret!)
• The AOC duo shares pics and stories from traveling across the country in their new Airstream Trailer! Looks so fun!!

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Good morning fellow friends!!

Another week down, another week closer to your Best Life since I last emailed!! You still making moves over there?? At least one of them? :)

If not, your mission this weekend is to cross off *one* thing that gets you closer to your dream lifestyle, whether it has to do with money, living arrangements, friendships, cars, clutter, lovers (ow ow!), or anything else that’s been on your heart lately. Then if you’re feeling ballsy enough, shoot me a note once you cross it off so I can give you a virtual high five! 👊 (or apparently a fist bump! lol..)

As for me, you know I’m still rollin’ high on life and steroids over here 🤣 I swear it feels like I have caffeine flowing through my veins 24/7 and Gawd I hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon… I’m getting so much stuff done!!

In fact, let’s start there with the latest news –

1) GIVING CARDS ARE BACK!!!! Where we hand out $20 gift cards for people to go out and do GOOD in their communities ❤️ Followers of Rockstar Finance and All-Star Money last Xmas will recall this project, and while it’s always been a fun side thing we’ve done attached to one of our larger projects, it’s now officially it’s *own* with hopes of it continuing on and growing even larger over the years.

Take a peek here –> GivingCards.org

(UPDATE: The project has since wrapped up)

I’m taking a lessor role in this project and helping out as the main advisor to it, but it’s being led my best friend/biz partner, Nate St. Pierre, who originally came up with this idea for me years ago for Rockstar, and whom long term followers will remember from our Love Drop days circa 2010!

If anyone’s interested in participating in the project though in some way, just hit reply to this email or reach out directly to Nate, and we’ll connect you up and add you to the party! We literally just soft-launched it yesterday so it’s SUPER in its early stages even though we’ve proven the concept over the years and know how much love it pours into the world…

It’s about the money, but it’s really not – it’s more about getting people to stop and *think* about how big of a difference they can make without actually needing that much money at all.

We’ve seen people take the concept and turn it into bigger movements in their community, we’ve seen people accidentally 10x the amount when their friends/family get word of their project idea, and we’ve even seen recipients of the love turn around and then pay it forward to someone less fortunate than even them – even though they can barely spare a dollar! It really is such a beautiful concept, and super proud to be a part of it all these years 🙏🙏

You can see some of the creative things people have done with only $20 here: givingcards.org/stories

And then here are all the ways you can participate if you would like!!

• Volunteer a skill of yours (email me!)
• Bring the idea to your business/job to do an event with us!
• Share it across your social channels/newsletters to help get the word out 👍
• Grab a card to Do Good (givingcards.org/request **cards limited at the moment, but hoping to have more once the word spreads and people support us :))

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In other fun news…

#2. My podcast with Grant Sabatier (Millennial Money) just dropped! — This is a very fun – high energy! – show we recorded last week covering everything from my “awakening” after my mysterious disease, the value of community, selling/re-acquiring my blog, life transitions, my latest obsession at 42, and why I blew up all my old habits and systems to reset.

If you’re looking for some good ear candy, check it out! It’s about 40 mins long:

EP38: Second Chance at Life w/ J. Money

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And then the bigger announcement for the week….

#3. I OFFICIALLY OWN BUDGETS ARE SEXY AGAIN!! AHHHH!!!!

I signed the contract Wednesday, wired the $$$$ yesterday, and today woke up with the full realization of what I just did… And can’t be more excited!! Nervous as hell, but excited!!

It’ll still be a week or so until I get it all xfered over and redesign wrapped up (it’s going to look so clean and clutter-free and LEGIBLE!!), but of course you’ll be the first to know once it’s out the door and back in action… Shooting for a re-launch two Mondays from now, June 13th 🤞

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And those are the biggies for now! Hope all your projects and goals and life stuff is going well!

Remember, if you’ve been slacking, take some time this weekend to do *one* thing that gets you closer to your ultimate lifestyle. Pick up the phone, shoot out an email, do 10 minutes of research – doesn’t have to be anything too major, just do SOMETHING which is always better than NOTHING! :) Then tell me what you did!

Favorite articles, and community news!, from the week are posted below…

Have a productive happy weekend!!

XOXO,

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Favorite Reads This Week:

Why Your Future Is Going To Be Awesome @ 1500 Days — “When I first discovered FIRE, I dove in and started consuming All. The. Things. I devoured the information and embraced FIRE without hesitation. But, one thing about index funds bothered me. I understood how index funds worked and why they’re better; it’s very difficult to pick single stocks over the long-term. However, there was something that I didn’t understand: why does VTSAX go up and to the right over the long-term?”

Buy High Sell Never @ Humble Dollar – “Remember Bob when investing during volatile markets, such as the one we’re currently in. If you’re buying stocks today, you have already outdone Bob. But don’t forget the secret to Bob’s success.”

Introducing The Lazy Man Rule of 20 @ Lazy Man and Money — “One of my good friends has an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) that she loves. An IPS puts down in writing how you are going to invest in advance of any market conditions. The beauty is that once you have your philosophy in black and white you simply have to just execute it.”

Just Because You Use an Item Doesn’t Mean You Need to Keep It @ Becoming Minimalist – “There is freedom to be found in realizing you don’t need to keep everything you use. In my opinion, “What would I use if I didn’t own this item?” is a much more helpful question to ask than “Do I use it?”“

Sorry, Collectibles Are Terrible Investments @ Full Stack Economics – ”This is the central paradox: if you’ve heard of a collectible, you’re already too late. But collectors and their promoters will often blur the distinction between rare items and common ones, in order to draw new people in.

Scambaiters: Meet the Modern-Day Heroes Who Scam Scammers @ Get Rich Slowly – “I have zero patience for scammers. Zero. I believe they deserve the harshest possible punishments. But, as Rober mentions in one video, it’s like playing whack-a-mole. You put one scammer out of business and five more rise to take his place.”

Favorite Video This Week!

Romano Tours – SNL via YouTube – “Joe Romano (Adam Sandler) clarifies what his tours of Italy can and cannot do for customers.” Hat tip to Apex Money finding this one as I missed the last SNL show :) So true on all accounts this video, whether on vacation or after having hit FI!! You’re still YOU when you get there – your problems don’t magically disappear!!

Some News Around The Community

Lastly, here’s a bunch of bloggers celebrating some big milestones around the community… Always interesting to hear how people fare once they hit FIRE and what they thought would be different or not when actually living it!

And of course similar to the above video, it’s never all sparkles and rainbows even if you’ve mastered the Money Game… There are so many other Games we need to manage in our life!! Money is just one of them!

• Monevator: FIRE Update: One Year Anniversary
• Rich Frugal Life: Early Retirement Update: The Second Year of Freedom
• Retirement Manifesto: 4 Lessons From 4 Years of Retirement
• Retire by 40: 10 Years After Early Retirement
• Mad Fientist: The Best Advice from Mr. Money Mustache (In celebration of Brandon’s podcast hitting 10 years!)

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Peace be with you, everyone!

Such a beautiful morning to be alive, isn’t it?? I walked out this morning to get the paper (yes – a physical paper!! It’s marvelous!) and immediately stretched my arms up high to the heavens in thanks as I breathed in the cool Virginia air…

My wife asked me what I was doing as she caught me in the security system (it alerts her anytime something sets off the front video camera), and I told her I was thanking God for letting me be alive, haha… She thought that was hilarious, but nothing funny about it to me! I am thankful!! I was on death’s doorstep a few weeks ago and I’ve been granted a new go at life!!

I’m also super thankful for an old friend in the space who I’ve reconnected again with and been enjoying getting to know more – Grant Sabatier of Millennial Money fame and best selling book, “Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All The Money You Will Ever Need“.

He too sold his blog to The Motley Fool the other year, but recently had me on his popular podcast he’s rebooting and the energy between us was off the chain… Can’t wait to pass it to you when it’s live, but after the show we ended up getting into life and philosophy and all types of other good stuff, and he alerted me to a thing out there called “bliss consciousness.”

“Bliss consciousness is a state of pure openness to everything. It’s when you are living in the recognition that the same energy that created you created me, the trees, all of it. When you recognize that it’s all the same thing. When you completely surrender to universal consciousness, this energy works within you and reconnects you to the divine. “

Soooo beautiful!! And not sure I quite understand it *fully*, but I’m liking how it makes me feel… He says you get closer to bliss consciousness through dedicated meditation practice, years of devotion, a Guru’s direct blessing, or sometimes even spontaneously. It also expands over time. And my recent illness and near death experience with the car are apparently common conditions that can stir this type of energy in you with the ecstatic feeling as a byproduct of increased awareness.

I’m still taking it all in, but consciously or subconsciously his new mantra is infiltrating my life and I’m digging it! The “stirring of the Shakti” he calls it. I even channeled it during my yard sale hunting last weekend and the world provided me with this gorgeous wooden zen fish necklace for only $1.00*!! Lol… Which immediately brought me peace and inspired my whole wardrobe for the rest of the weekend 😂

Here’s a video I threw out on Insta while enjoying a lazy Sunday down by the river… Can you feel the blissfulness?? :)

[Is this what they call Boho Chic?! Lol…
My tie-dye shirt was $4 from Goodwill :)]

I’ll stop here as I know not everyone is into this sorta stuff, but if you are Google “bliss consciousness” and see if it stirs you up in any way… I’m sure I’ll be talking about it again at some point if it continues to flow through me :)

In other fun news:

#1. The Fool accepted my offer to buy Budgets back, ZOMG!!! This is gonna be so fun!! Gotta still get the contract and make it all official (hopefully by the end of next week), but the stars are starting to align! And really have to thank them SO much for not only bringing me back into the fold here, but really for the past few years of helping my dreams come true and being so generous throughout the entire selling and transitioning process, and even into tapping me to build out All-Star Money for them (R.I.P.).

It didn’t work out long-term, but it’s rare to find an organization where the culture matches you so well and they actually *care* about the people and work they do. So massive thanks for everything these past few years, Roger, Laura, Dana, Tracy, Chris and Bledsoe!! It truly means a lot, and has made this entire experience so much better cuz of y’all 💙

#2. My kids are out of school!!! I officially now have a 5th grader, a 3rd grader and a pre-schooler, eek!! Remember back in the day when I used to track every dollar it cost to bring a baby into the world?? And how I thought I could track it for 18 years but only lasted like 18 months?! lol… Funny to look back at how you saw life years ago and how much you change over time… You’re constantly evolving too so there’s really no such thing as permanence! Especially with kids!

We got them in some camps and vacays here and there throughout the Summer, but it’ll be interesting to see how much work I get done as TOGETHER they are loud and pure madness… Sweet as anything apart, but all three boys in one room = CHAOS. You boy moms know!!

#3. I’ve got a new collection of rings!!! I threw it out into the world last month that I wish I had more rings to rock, and then BAM! I start seeing them everywheeeeeeere I go now, and even at the same shops I always frequent, isn’t that wild? Or maybe that’s a part of all this bliss consciousness??!

It started with a couple $10 rings and then moved to a $60 one and now onto cheap vintage necklaces and bracelets too, lol… Though in my defense I’ve probably only spent around $100 for everything which is pretty damn good I think, especially as I wear the 4 rings every day now!! That cost-to-use ratio is on lock.

(And I also bring Baby Dime shopping with me for good Quality Time who also gets to pick out a ring or two for being  a good little helper… So it’s kinda become a weekly “experience” for us – at least that’s how I’m justifying it to my wallet ;))

Look how pretty!

[Can you tell which of the group was $60?
I gave you some help with the last one ;)]

And that’s a wrap for this week! Another fun, productive, and downright exhilarating time project-wise over here… Hope y’all had a healthy and happy week too! Will keep you updated on bringing Budgets back!! I’ve got ideas!!!

Favorite reads from around the community are posted below, and as always just hit “reply” and say hello anytime…

Your friend in bliss,

*The fish necklace was in a bag full of jewelry for a lot price of $3.00, but I snuck it out and asked if I could buy just that one necklace for $1.00 – why take a whole bag of stuff you don’t really want? People call doing this a faux pas, but I call it asking for what you want and seeing if you can get away with it ;) And it worked!

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Favorite reads this week:

Finally, a Stock Market Crash! @ Mr. Money Mustache — “The world is scary and the stock market has plunged, but the fundamental picture hasn’t changed at all: billions of humans are working hard and applying their ingenuity every day to get ahead. People who understand this unchanging mechanism will look at this year’s sale on productive asset and say, “Cool – sign me up for another helping of future wealth, and thanks for the deal!”

Six Questions to Ask Yourself Before Making a Purchase @ Rich In What Matters — “Would the best version of “me” buy this? If the best version of you wouldn’t buy an item, then don’t. Before making a purchase, tap into your authentic self, and ask if you really need to buy the item. Consult your gut feeling. If it’s an uneasy one, listen and don’t make the purchase.”

How Can I Save When I Fear There Might Not Be a Future? @ Douglas Soi — “I always tell my students that personal finance is about your relationship to the future. And in this uncertain world, people, especially younger ones, are finding their relationship to the future hard. There’s a sense of anticipatory grief, dread, about how our world is going to look in twenty, or forty years.

Zero-Based Budgets: Templates and Examples @ Wallet Hacks — “Here are five excellent and free, zero-based budget templates to help you manage your money. I’ve included fillable spreadsheets and PDF printables for those who prefer to budget the old-fashioned way. 😉”

How to Travel for Free with Home Exchange @ Millennial Revolution — “The concept is simple. You stay in someone else’s home, they stay in yours. No money changes hands, and you become part of a thriving community of open-minded travellers who want to make friends instead of money.”

2022 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting Video, Transcript, and Notes @ My Money Blog — “Here are my notes on the 2022 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meeting. I enjoyed listening to it like a podcast first and then reading through the text a second time around. There are many financial media articles with highlights, but here are my personal takeaways and notes.”

You’re Probably Using the 4% Rule All Wrong @ The Best Interest — “The 4% rule assumes a “50/50” portfolio… If you’re using the 4% rule on a 100% stock portfolio or 100% bond portfolio, you’re using it wrong. Each portfolio (all stocks? all bonds? mix?) and each duration (30 years? 20 years? 40 years?) has a safe withdrawal rate that you can use as a benchmark. But it might not be 4%!”

Just Inked a Contract For My Next Book, and I Want You To Be a Part of It! @ JLCollinsNH — “We want to hear your stories! You can be at any financial stage of the journey and you can write about any aspect of it, and at any length. In fact, focusing on one small part – rather than the whole quest – would be good, and maybe better, than trying to tell your whole story. We are planning about 250 pages for this book, so space is limited. The earlier you submit, the better your chances of having your tale included.”

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Good morning!

Back again this week with some juicy gossip and nuggets to share!

But first – a HUGE THANKS for the magnificent welcoming back party y’all so generously gave me in the form of notes and niceties all week! It gave me that extra burst of energy/confidence I needed to keep going with this 2nd Life of mine, and happy to report we’re still going full throttle over here with no plans on stopping ;)

In fact, that’s my new motto I’m channeling right now:

MORE DOING. LESS THINKING.

Who knows what the hell tomorrow will bring?! Tomorrow doesn’t even exist yet! Only today is real – and after years of getting stuck in this over-thinking phase I’m learning to let go more and MAKE MOVES or MOVE ASIDE, lol…

And in the spirit of this, I’ve got two major things to report today that I’m pretty excited about.

We’ll start with the juiciest one first – let’s gooooooooo!

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I can’t believe I’m typing this out right now, but…

I put in an offer to buy Budgets Are Sexy back! I’m coming out of retirement!!!

No plans for this whatsoever just a bit ago, but the opportunity came up and after staring at it just sitting there doing nothing – and the idea of it getting flipped to another outlet! – I just couldn’t resist and hopped on the phone with The Fool to see what we might be able to work out…

It’s not a definite yet so don’t want to give away too much and jinx it, but if it works out the plan would be to take it back to 2008 years of just being a FUN pure PASSION project again building out a community and spreading the good word like blogging was always meant to be… no Business/SEO/Strategic maneuvering (okay, a little strategic maneuvering so it still pays for itself), but basically going back Old School and starting fresh again.

I’m pretty stoked about it! Nervous as hell, but stoked! I was perfectly at peace with that chapter of my life, and now here we are opening it all up again for a chance of crashing and burning, haha… But it sure does make you feel ALIVE again, and that is exactly why I need to do it :)

I’m done trying to plan for the future and always looking for the *perfect* new project to work on because all that time wasted in between puts out *nothing* into the world, so why not just DO THINGS and then adapt?! If it fails it fails and you move onto the next shiny new project??!

And what another reminder yet again at how fast life can change… One minute your sick in bed and the saddest you’ve ever been, and the next you’re recharging your life’s work again and coming out of retirement with all the energy in the world. Gotta love it! And even if I don’t get Budgets back again, it’s been a fun alternative universe to think about and help stretch the mind…

So with or without the blog, I’m ready to get back out there again with my own project!!

And again have to thank you so much for all the love and emails recently… It really played a big part in my decision to go after Budgets again, and sometimes you forget sometimes how many beautiful people are in your community until you give them a reason to connect.

If you’ve been MIA for a while in your own communities, take a few minutes today to reach back out and let everyone know you’re alive!!! Restart all those friendships and be with your people again!! Who knows what type of inspiration will come from it!

The second bit of news here is also killer – but hopefully not literally….

I GOT AN OFFICIAL DIAGNOSIS OF MY DISEASE!!!! We went up to Johns Hopkins and met with a national specialist and found out what I have is in the same family as I mentioned last week but slightly different: “Pemphigus Vulgaris” – a rare blistering autoimmune disease that affects the mouth, nose, throat, eyes, and genitals (! thankfully haven’t experienced this one yet !).

It’s got no cure and will have to live with it for the rest of my life – BUT!!! – there are some miracle drugs/infusions and so long as I stay on top of it I could very possibly go into remission for 1-4 years at a time and then just repeat the treatments and live a relatively happy life. So yay!! Because if left untreated this thing will keep spreading and attacking myself until it eventually does me in 💀💀

And I can’t stop thinking about how LUCKY we are to be living in a time and place we do now because if this $hit hit you in a 3rd world country or in the 20th, 19th, 18th century you would be F’d. Slowly losing your quality of life as each day passes until you can’t take it anymore… Even this miracle infusion is relatively new at 4 years old when it was finally approved by the FDA!! And expensive as $hit!! ($60,000 I read somewhere if you don’t have insurance…). So even just the ability to have insurance is a Godsend!!

I’m waiting for the scheduler to put me on the books for my first infusion, and then from there I should start slowly getting better without the help of any meds!! A brave new world out there!! :)

PS: if you ever get spontaneous blisters, lesions, cuts, sores or anything else funky in your mouth, see a DERMATOLOGIST first! Took me three months and dozens of other doctors to finally get me to the right place and from there everything fast tracked and had a diagnosis and treatment plan within a month.

Also: document everything! I plopped down an 18 page report in front of the specialist with summary and timeline of all my symptoms along w/ 14 pages of pictures and I swear it not only saved everyone time but turned him on in the process 🤣🤣 Gotta do what it takes, right?? Haha…

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And that’s all the news I have for you this week… It’s been quite the week :)

Will keep you posted on the blog and other adventures, and in the meantime here are a handful of great articles I enjoyed as I was makin’ moves around town…

More Doing. Less Thinking.

Better to be working on something than nothing!

XOXO,

PS: That “Stay Stoked. Stay Hungry.” design is from one of my favorite new skateboarding/clothing companies I’m obsessed with: Shed&Shred. Small local shop – check it out!

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Favorite reads this week:

The Greatest Conversation Advice I Ever Received @ Becoming Minimalist — “If you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that other persons will enjoy answering. Encourage them to talk about themselves and their accomplishments. Remember that the people you are talking to are a hundred times more interested in themselves and their wants and problems than they are in you and your problems.”

I Lost Money In Crypto So That You Don’t Have To! @ Get Rich Slowly — “I’ve found myself gradually being worn down over time. So many people endorse cryptocurrency, including people who seem to be savvy and smart. So, last fall, I succumbed to the mania.”

Investment Advice From The Simpsons: Just Don’t Look! @ Impersonal Finances — “If you’re feeling anxious about your portfolio puking up recent gains, remind yourself of Paul Anka’s jingle and just don’t look! Take a break from financial news. Stop doomscrolling Twitter. Instead, zoom out and embrace the buying opportunity, which is made easy by automating your investments. Keep those 401k contributions going as scheduled and tune out the noise.”

The Last Time Always Happens Now @ Raptitude — “There was, or will be, a last time for everything you do, from climbing a tree to changing a diaper, and living with a practiced awareness of that fact can make even the most routine day feel like it’s bursting with blessings. Of all the lasting takeaways from my periodic dives into Stoicism, this is the one that has enhanced my life the most.”

College Campuses Are Great Coworking Spaces @ Financial Panther — “When you think about it, college campuses are built for coworking. Consider all the features they have:

• Nice buildings and tons of comfortable spaces to work from.
• Free WiFi everywhere.
• Plenty of outlets you can use, so I can easily charge all my devices.
• Lots of young people working, which gives a lot of energy to the place.
• Tons of food options, so I can always get a good lunch or snack.
• Water fountains (and filtered water even).
• Clean public bathrooms.
• Lots of bike parking.

All these features were a major improvement from working in a coffee shop.

Live Your Dash with No Regrets @ Simple by Emmy — “I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning… to the end.  He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.  For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.”

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